FM15: Tottenham Hotspur - Always Take Lamela With You

[KingellesarSpurs]

Started a game yesterday for first time....just had a mess around as I always start one to get a feel of the game then start my main save.

Anyway I'm finding it hard to shift certain players again, Lennon and Dembele. Will try harder on my next save.

Highlights....Lacazette was a good buy, Clyne was not worth it, will just stick with Naughton. I bought Toulalan as I went with a 2CDM option (which I won't be on main save but wanted to try it)...hes actually really good, not sure how he would be as a lone CDM but he mopped up with Capoue.

Kane also banged them in in EL....as did Mason. Think they both had 3 in 3 each. Amazing stuff. Then of course, like every FM, Mason got injured for 5 months!

[DosSantosFC]

Started a game yesterday for first time....just had a mess around as I always start one to get a feel of the game then start my main save.

Anyway I'm finding it hard to shift certain players again, Lennon and Dembele. Will try harder on my next save.

Highlights....Lacazette was a good buy, Clyne was not worth it, will just stick with Naughton. I bought Toulalan as I went with a 2CDM option (which I won't be on main save but wanted to try it)...hes actually really good, not sure how he would be as a lone CDM but he mopped up with Capoue.

Kane also banged them in in EL....as did Mason. Think they both had 3 in 3 each. Amazing stuff. Then of course, like every FM, Mason got injured for 5 months!

Lacazette in my save is banging them in constantly for Lyon and is available for a mere £8m. Problem I have is I done really need him as I am hoping Alcacar gets his act together!!!! I got rid of Lennon part ex for Moussa Sissoko from Newcastle and I highly recommend him, very versatile and great cover for Lamela in the AMR position!!! Trying to get a high determination in the team. Anyone had any joy with Bentaleb and Dier? I struggle to find where to play both where they will get game time! Also, anyone persevering with Fazio? Keen to get rid of him and replace him with Caulker.... wouldn't mind some more English blood!

[enders357]

He is always an advanced forward- Main formation at the moment is 4-2-3-1 but I do play 4-1-3-2 sometimes. He is banging them in regardless of formation. Ill post an update later. My only concern is his potential is still only 3*'s but his stats are going up big time!

Stambouli has been impressive, I wasent playing him so I had to have a meeting with him, I gave him a chance and haven't looked back since!!! Really noticeable when watching the extended highlights his impact he has, great tackling/closing down and simple passing! Really does do a good job!! Chiriches has been getting big for his boots and wants to leave for United unless he was the most important player, he is improving and playing well when called upon but 'most important player' definitely not!!!!

Sounds great regarding Kane! Stambouli's someone I like in real life so it's cool he's doing well in the game.

[jd1882]

What kind of transfer budget are people getting for the second season?

i got 6.75m! after finishing second and winning carling cup. pretty tight! I did sign a lot in the first year and have a lot going out on wages etc... but still not much to work with seeing as i'm expected to make a title challenge.

[W_Beattie]

Just been on a bit of a scouting mission to try and find some good youngsters to bring in but I'm finding that clubs who have players of "black star" 5* potential are demanding £20m even if they're only 15/16. Realistic, I suppose. Puts the burden on you developing your own players.

[enders357]

Just been on a bit of a scouting mission to try and find some good youngsters to bring in but I'm finding that clubs who have players of "black star" 5* potential are demanding £20m even if they're only 15/16. Realistic, I suppose. Puts the burden on you developing your own players.

There are some good ones I know of that you can get cheaper: Ante Coric should be about £1m, Your Tielemans around £11m, Unai Lopez for £10.25m (buyout clause).

[W_Beattie]

There are some good ones I know of that you can get cheaper: Ante Coric should be about £1m, Your Tielemans around £11m, Unai Lopez for £10.25m (buyout clause).

Ante Coric moved to Man City it seems for £725k and is now on loan at NYCFC.

Lopez has signed a new deal with a renegotiated buyout of £26m.

Tielemans I've been scouting for about 18 months now but just haven't pulled the trigger in attempting to sign. Not entirely sure why.

[reece1973]

Transfer listed Adebayor and pre season and 3 league games in and hes on fire.

Demoted Kaboul to vice captain and hes sulked big time

Vertonghen wanted to leave but no one came in for him and now hes happy.

Is it possible to rise the morale of a player like Kaboul whos spat his dummy out?

[Matspur]

Had a really good first season, I only used one formation for the season and that was a 4-1-4-1. We managed to finish second in the league and win the Europa cup. Our domestic cup results were not that good though, got knocked out of the capital one cup by Stoke in the fourth round, and the F.A. cup by Millwall in the fifth round.

I was not a purist and made a number of changes to the squad

Summer transfer window

In

Kristoffer Ajer 1k

Gino Peruzzi 3.4 mil

Pavel Kaderabek 3.4 mil

Lucas Romero 7 mil

Eder Alvarez Balanta 7 mil

Andre Ayew 5.5 mil

Federico Bravo 4.3 mil

Matias Kranevitter 5.5 mil

Simone Zaza 16.25 mil

Will Hughes 9 mil

Dele Alli 3 mil

Out

Kyle Naughton 6 mil

Jan Vertonghen 45 mil

Paulinho 25 mil

Emmanuel Adebayor 10 mil

BAE 1 mil

Etienne Capoue 20 mil

January transfer window

In

Youri Tielemans 8.5 mil

John Stones 21 mil

Out

Andros Townsend 13 mil

Federico Fazio 20 mil

Line up

Starting/back up

GK Lloris/Vorm

RB Walker/Peruzzi

CB Chiriches/Stones

CB Balanta/Kaboul

LB Rose/Davies

DM Stambouli/Kranevitter

RM Lamela/Lennon

CM Eriksen/Hughes

CM Dembele/Romero

LM Chadli/Ayew

ST Zaza/Soldado

[DosSantosFC]

As spoken about earlier.... Kane is doing wonders for me!!!!

On a great run at the moment including a great win away against Arsenal. I am not kidding, this has to be the most dominant team I have had in FM history,never had a run like this in FM! Just played Chelsea drew 1-1 (Kane) and then United who are top and beat them 3-1 and it should of been a lot more!!!

[Markmilan]

Kane is on fire! Looks like a great game v Man City (6-4 win)!!

[W_Beattie]

Had a bit of a nightmare. 18 months in and my save game corrupted.

Started again. Focus now being on bringing in young British players (although not exclusively).

Sold Vertonghen, Adebayor, BAE, Soldado, Naughton.

Signed Berahino, Roberts, Hughes, Souttar, Clyne with a few of the younger ones returning to their clubs on loan. Brought in Lacazette to offset the loss of Soldado/Adebayor. Berahino doesn't arrive until January so I could perhaps do with another forward on loan until then.

I'll try to secure Stones & Barkley again at some stage.

Took me forever to re-do all the staff etc.

I'll actually be playing Kane this time round to try to mimic the above results!

[DosSantosFC]

Kane is on fire! Looks like a great game v Man City (6-4 win)!!

That was a loss unfortunately, we were 4-1 down at HT we pulled it back to 4-3. Had 2 or 3 great chances and went 6-3 down! Was end to end, just City were more clinical!!!

[W_Beattie]

The other plus side of my original save corrupting is that having started again - Odegaard is now in it and has been snapped up.

[allthatglitters]

Had a bit of a nightmare. 18 months in and my save game corrupted.

That's horrible. I always have a save file available of my game four hours in, after I've sacked and hired all my staff, sorted out friendlies, training etc so I don't have to do all that again if I want/need to start again.

[W_Beattie]

That's horrible. I always have a save file available of my game four hours in, after I've sacked and hired all my staff, sorted out friendlies, training etc so I don't have to do all that again if I want/need to start again.

I never thought of doing that. I had backups of the save but, strangely, I'd rather start again than have to go back 6 weeks or whatever. So having a save just after doing all the rigmarole at the start is a good idea.

[DosSantosFC]

Had a bit of a nightmare. 18 months in and my save game corrupted.

Started again. Focus now being on bringing in young British players (although not exclusively).

Sold Vertonghen, Adebayor, BAE, Soldado, Naughton.

Signed Berahino, Roberts, Hughes, Souttar, Clyne with a few of the younger ones returning to their clubs on loan. Brought in Lacazette to offset the loss of Soldado/Adebayor. Berahino doesn't arrive until January so I could perhaps do with another forward on loan until then.

I'll try to secure Stones & Barkley again at some stage.

Took me forever to re-do all the staff etc.

I'll actually be playing Kane this time round to try to mimic the above results!

Advanced forward- that is ALL!

[n33712]

I am resisting making transfers before the season begins and will click the "no transfers" thingee so that I start the season with a Real Life Spurs.

As Spurs fans we are quick to complain when our RL managers make mistakes. We question their reasoning not to play Kane or Davies and we are positive we could do better than them - but can we do it better?

Starting like the RL squad against RL competition gives RL perspective.

I've never done this before on FM but this time will be different.

Been meaning to do this. If the option is selected do other clubs buy and sell or does it affect everyone?

Cheers

[W_Beattie]

Been meaning to do this. If the option is selected do other clubs buy and sell or does it affect everyone?

Cheers

It means no one can spend any money until January.

[Arrycaine]

Also started a game with Spurs.

My first season transfer activity (including January) was as follows:

IN:

Saido Berahino - £13.75m

Clement Grenier - £10m

Nathaniel Clyne - £11m

Ross Barkley - £16m

OUT:

Kyle Naughton - £3m

BAE - £1.3m

Vlad Chiriches - £8.75m

Benjamin Stambouli - £7.5m

Frederico Fazio - £11m

Finished 5th in the PL (above Arsenal!) but was somewhat disappointing in the cup competitions.

2nd season transfer activity was:

IN:

Joe Gomez - £5m

Jack Stobbs - £2m

Aaron Kuhl - £1.2m

John Stones - £16.25m

Christoph Kramer - £20m

Alexandre Lacazette - £0 + Nacer Chadli

OUT:

Nacer Chadli - £0 + Alexandre Lacazette

Roberto Soldado - £2m

Thomas Carroll - £1.5m

Lewis Holtby - £14.5m

Emmanuel Adebayor - £1m

Alex Pritchard - £650k

Christian Eriksen - £23m

That last deal was out of my hands in the sense that he wanted to go. And to Juventus specifically.

As you can probably tell I've been attempting to offload some of the higher earning foreigners and trying to add younger British players to the likes of Dier, Rose, Walker, Davies, Townsend, Kane etc who are already there.

2nd season has started with PL results of:

Hull 1-1 Tottenham

Tottenham 2-0 Newcastle

Man Utd 1-1 Tottenham

Tottenham 1-1 West Brom

Not great.

My starting XI with everyone fit tends to be:

GK: Lloris

DR: Walker

DL: Davies

DC: Stones

DC: Vertonghen

MC: Kramer

MC: Dembele

AMR: Lamela

AML: Townsend

AMC: Barkley

ST: Lacazette

How is Lacazette doing? I'm in the Jan transfer window and thinking of flogging Soldado and bringing him in. I have Soldado, Kane & Munir but can't get anyone to play well or score consistently.

[Arrycaine]

As spoken about earlier.... Kane is doing wonders for me!!!!

On a great run at the moment including a great win away against Arsenal. I am not kidding, this has to be the most dominant team I have had in FM history,never had a run like this in FM! Just played Chelsea drew 1-1 (Kane) and then United who are top and beat them 3-1 and it should of been a lot more!!!

I will definitely be trying Kane as an Advanced Forward now. I had tried him as a Complete forward and a false 9 but he just shoots from distance all the time. I have been having trouble with my other strikers too (Munir & Soldado) and I can't get any consistency out of them, they all seem to wait until a defender stands in front of them before they will shoot, it's bizarre.

[Arrycaine]

Lacazette in my save is banging them in constantly for Lyon and is available for a mere £8m. Problem I have is I done really need him as I am hoping Alcacar gets his act together!!!! I got rid of Lennon part ex for Moussa Sissoko from Newcastle and I highly recommend him, very versatile and great cover for Lamela in the AMR position!!! Trying to get a high determination in the team. Anyone had any joy with Bentaleb and Dier? I struggle to find where to play both where they will get game time! Also, anyone persevering with Fazio? Keen to get rid of him and replace him with Caulker.... wouldn't mind some more English blood!

I haven't played Bentaleb much but started him in my last group game in the Europa (I had already qualified) against Hajduk and he scored 2 screamers from distance. Dier has been doing well for me as 2nd choice right back, but haven't tried him at CB yet.

[DosSantosFC]

I haven't played Bentaleb much but started him in my last group game in the Europa (I had already qualified) against Hajduk and he scored 2 screamers from distance. Dier has been doing well for me as 2nd choice right back, but haven't tried him at CB yet.

Yeh it's difficult, I struggle with Bentaleb. I seem to be promising players constantly for game time ie. Paulinho,Dembele,Capoue AND Stambouli!! Stambouli bar from Kane has been the most impressive, he is always starting CM so Bentaleb struggles as my priority is

Ward-Prowse. Dier rarely features for me. Fazio,Balanta,Kaboul and Chiriches occupy CB and Sakai and Walker now occupy RB! It's January though and Paulinho and Townsend want to leave, problem is no one has bid. Everton want Townsend, Paulinho is wanted by Juventus,Benfica and Liverpool.

[DosSantosFC]

I will definitely be trying Kane as an Advanced Forward now. I had tried him as a Complete forward and a false 9 but he just shoots from distance all the time. I have been having trouble with my other strikers too (Munir & Soldado) and I can't get any consistency out of them, they all seem to wait until a defender stands in front of them before they will shoot, it's bizarre.

Its weird, Alcacar and Ben Yedder have struggled there and Kane just always seems to be in the right place at the right time. I don't no what to do. Perez now says Kane is 3.5* but with no potential to improve in the future so I am really disappointed in that and he still hasent been called up to the England squad yet Ben Yedder is now in the French squad, so although he has done amazing, I'm not to happy with the reports.

[KingellesarSpurs]

So I started my new save....Every save PSG have come in for Paulinho...this time I had to settle for £15m to Juve. Shifted the usual, Ekotto, Dembele, Ade and Naughton. Chadli went for £12.5m! Then United came in for Verts, low balling offers until I settled for £35m rising to £43m.

I was sensible for the transfer window....Berahino £13.75m, Wanyama £13.75m, Romero £8m, Balanta £6m, Yarmolenko £8.75m. Sorted, started the season well, 2-0 win against Palace at home, Soldado was my striker and has been banging them in.

Anyway earlier on in the window I offered for Reus and tried talking him into coming but he wasn't having it. Two days before deadline I noticed he was injured still and had abysmal morale, offered again, this time it did the "my client isn't interested but lets see what you can offer malarky". Bang, I broke my wage structure to get him, budget wise I was fine, I had £28m to spend and £245k wages still. Offered him £165k a week, he wanted £7m signing on fee but I didn't care. He scored a penalty on his debut. Bit of a pickle now though, Yarmolenko and Reus for AML.

Current XI: Lloris, Dier, Kaboul, Chiriches, Davies, Capoue, Romero, Eriksen (MC), Lamela, Reus, Soldado

[W_Beattie]

How is Lacazette doing? I'm in the Jan transfer window and thinking of flogging Soldado and bringing him in. I have Soldado, Kane & Munir but can't get anyone to play well or score consistently.

He was kicking into gear before that save game corrupted! I've signed him again from the start on my new version so he must have done something right!

[DosSantosFC]

He was kicking into gear before that save game corrupted! I've signed him again from the start on my new version so he must have done something right!

In January now, he was available for £8m. Didn't really need him but unsettled him non the less however he signed a new deal and no longer wishes to join. His record this season with them is amazing. 23 goals in 19 starts.

[kubo]

Greetings fellow yiddos!

(Warning: wall of text incoming).

Just read through this thread, and what strikes me is that many of you tend to more or less buy a whole new team when taking over Spurs. Now, I agree that our current squad isn't that great - or just seems a bit too "much of a muchness" to quote a certain mr Sherwood - but for me the challenge and half the fun has always been to try and get the most out of the current crop of players.

So after fooling around with some other teams in other leagues just to get a feel for FM15, I finally started this year's first Spurs save the other week. Unfortunately, it was all kind of a mess. We were hard to beat, but conceded so many stupid goals that we looked like Man City under mr Hughes: 18 draws in 38 games, loads and loads of 1-1's and 2-2's. We reached the FA Cup final, but a few weeks before facing the arse at Wembley, Vertonghen threw a hissy fit over not getting his dream move to Barca (they never even made a bid!) and the whole squad just imploded. Not a very nice experience.

After giving the game a break for a couple of days, I decided to have another go at cracking it with Spurs. This time, something just clicked, which gave us a really interesting season.

TRANSFERS

As I've said, I wanna work with what's already here. The only signings were the pre-purchased Yedlin (who looks quite rubbish, unfortunately) and two young strikers to provide backup. Adebayor left for Saints in the winter and Wolfsburg bought half our defence. Fazio wanted more playing time, Chiriches I just can't stand (centrebacks should NOT have high values for dribbling, damnit!).

When I saw that Shaqiri were frozen out at Bayern, I did try to bring him in in January and really thought we had him in the bag, but sadly he preferred that blue team from west London. Money talks. Such a shame.

THE LEAGUE

We started with some dramatic high scoring games (2-2 away to Villa, 3-2 home against Utd) with me unsure of the best formation, before settling nicely into a solid 4-3-3 / 4-1-4-1 wich turned out to be nigh on inpenetrable. One streak of six games without conceding and another run of four without conceding saw us racing into the top spot by winter, still undefeated come february. 17 9 0 was a pretty great facit after 26 games until we crashed to defeat at Old Trafford.

Sadly, our defensive stability came at the expense of some attacking urgency, and a few nil-nils too many saw Chelsea pip us to the title after they won ten of their last twelve games. Getting our best players Soldado and Dembele (yes, him!) injuried for the last few months of the season didn't help either.

I'm not quite sure how I did it, but that doesn't make me less proud over turning White Hart Lane into a fortress again, only conceding f-i-v-e home goals all season long.

THE CUPS

The league cup gave us the shittiest of ties, away to Chelsea. We played a few kids, lost, and moved on. I did not smile when we got the draw for the FA Cup: Arsenal. Away. However, we outfought them, and after that it was smooth sailing all the way to Wembley. Surprise package Norwich had already won the league cup (facing rivals Ipswich in the final, no less) and gave us a scare with their odd, overload-the-centre-4-2-3-1, but in the end our superior quality saw us through. Not a classic in any way or shape, but FA Cup glory nonetheless.

EUROPE

Playoff and group stages was a breeze, as it should, with Bentaleb scoring in both games against Rio Ave one of the highlights. After the group stage I debated whether to continue playing Vorm in the EL or bring in the superior Lloris to give us a bigger chance at winning, but decided to keep the faith with Vorm. No regrets there. After making a stupid mistake against Sporting which cost us a goal, he decided to don't look back, instead stepping it up and closing the shop for good. We didn't concede a single goal after that.

The final against Zenit turned out to be a tense affair. Sadly, AVB had left (to manage Man Utd, believe it or not) and their new coach somehow found a way to stifle our play, whilst launching cross after cross after cross into the box, but our defence played superbly. In extra time, substitue Lamela got hold of a poor back pass and smashed an unstoppable rocket into the net, and the glory glory was all ours.

SQUAD STATS

Soldado and Lamela lead our lines in fine fashion, with excellent service from Eriksen and Dembele (player-of-the-season-candidate until injury cut his season short). Kane had a torrid time in the league, but scored for fun in the cups. Capoue was the reliable water carrier that allowed the rest of the midfield to flourish (I'm happy that DM's can finally get avg ratings over 7, which was near on impossible in FM14). Vertonghen was the ever-present leader of the defence, quite deadly at set pieces too. Lloris kept 23(!) clean sheets in the league.

Finally, young Dier deserves special mention. With Chiriches and Fazio gone, Dier really had to step it up when Kaboul got injuried and in the end he played some odd 40 games. Looking a bit raw at times, sure, but what an excellent prospect. With high values for determination, teamwork, workrate and leadership at the tender age of 21, I see a future club captain. If not the new King, then definitely the new Dawson.

THE FUTURE

The primary objective is clear: to knock Chelsea and their smug manager (we've worked up quite a feisty relationship) off their perch. But how do you stop a team with players like Costa, Hazard and Fabregas? Damn hard. Champions League glory would be more of a bonus.

I'm quite happy with the squad and aren't sure I wanna alter it too much. One signing is finalised for next season: Pereyra from Juventus/Udinese, will hopefully provide more of a goal threat from midfield. Biggest dilemma is the attack. Soldado needs replacing sooner or later, but an expensive big name signing in attack would probably stifle Kane's progress. Then again, Kane's probably not quite good enough to lead us all the way in the league. Decisions decisions.

Well, at least I managed to convince Levy to expand WHL by 8500 seats so next season we'll have bigger capacity than Villa, Everton and that blue plastic club across town. (I've removed the new stadium move in the pre-game editor since those plans all seems pretty much up in the air IRL).

Guess that's it. If you bothered to read all the way, kudos, and here's a word of Spurs advice as a reward: run at defence is a freaking great team instruction. Seeing players like Lamela, Eriksen and Dembele take off on slaloming mazy runs against dumbstruck defenders is a pure delight.

[DosSantosFC]

Greetings fellow yiddos!

(Warning: wall of text incoming).

Just read through this thread, and what strikes me is that many of you tend to more or less buy a whole new team when taking over Spurs. Now, I agree that our current squad isn't that great - or just seems a bit too "much of a muchness" to quote a certain mr Sherwood - but for me the challenge and half the fun has always been to try and get the most out of the current crop of players.

So after fooling around with some other teams in other leagues just to get a feel for FM15, I finally started this year's first Spurs save the other week. Unfortunately, it was all kind of a mess. We were hard to beat, but conceded so many stupid goals that we looked like Man City under mr Hughes: 18 draws in 38 games, loads and loads of 1-1's and 2-2's. We reached the FA Cup final, but a few weeks before facing the arse at Wembley, Vertonghen threw a hissy fit over not getting his dream move to Barca (they never even made a bid!) and the whole squad just imploded. Not a very nice experience.

After giving the game a break for a couple of days, I decided to have another go at cracking it with Spurs. This time, something just clicked, which gave us a really interesting season.

TRANSFERS

As I've said, I wanna work with what's already here. The only signings were the pre-purchased Yedlin (who looks quite rubbish, unfortunately) and two young strikers to provide backup. Adebayor left for Saints in the winter and Wolfsburg bought half our defence. Fazio wanted more playing time, Chiriches I just can't stand (centrebacks should NOT have high values for dribbling, damnit!).

When I saw that Shaqiri were frozen out at Bayern, I did try to bring him in in January and really thought we had him in the bag, but sadly he preferred that blue team from west London. Money talks. Such a shame.

THE LEAGUE

We started with some dramatic high scoring games (2-2 away to Villa, 3-2 home against Utd) with me unsure of the best formation, before settling nicely into a solid 4-3-3 / 4-1-4-1 wich turned out to be nigh on inpenetrable. One streak of six games without conceding and another run of four without conceding saw us racing into the top spot by winter, still undefeated come february. 17 9 0 was a pretty great facit after 26 games until we crashed to defeat at Old Trafford.

Sadly, our defensive stability came at the expense of some attacking urgency, and a few nil-nils too many saw Chelsea pip us to the title after they won ten of their last twelve games. Getting our best players Soldado and Dembele (yes, him!) injuried for the last few months of the season didn't help either.

I'm not quite sure how I did it, but that doesn't make me less proud over turning White Hart Lane into a fortress again, only conceding f-i-v-e home goals all season long.

THE CUPS

The league cup gave us the shittiest of ties, away to Chelsea. We played a few kids, lost, and moved on. I did not smile when we got the draw for the FA Cup: Arsenal. Away. However, we outfought them, and after that it was smooth sailing all the way to Wembley. Surprise package Norwich had already won the league cup (facing rivals Ipswich in the final, no less) and gave us a scare with their odd, overload-the-centre-4-2-3-1, but in the end our superior quality saw us through. Not a classic in any way or shape, but FA Cup glory nonetheless.

EUROPE

Playoff and group stages was a breeze, as it should, with Bentaleb scoring in both games against Rio Ave one of the highlights. After the group stage I debated whether to continue playing Vorm in the EL or bring in the superior Lloris to give us a bigger chance at winning, but decided to keep the faith with Vorm. No regrets there. After making a stupid mistake against Sporting which cost us a goal, he decided to don't look back, instead stepping it up and closing the shop for good. We didn't concede a single goal after that.

The final against Zenit turned out to be a tense affair. Sadly, AVB had left (to manage Man Utd, believe it or not) and their new coach somehow found a way to stifle our play, whilst launching cross after cross after cross into the box, but our defence played superbly. In extra time, substitue Lamela got hold of a poor back pass and smashed an unstoppable rocket into the net, and the glory glory was all ours.

SQUAD STATS

Soldado and Lamela lead our lines in fine fashion, with excellent service from Eriksen and Dembele (player-of-the-season-candidate until injury cut his season short). Kane had a torrid time in the league, but scored for fun in the cups. Capoue was the reliable water carrier that allowed the rest of the midfield to flourish (I'm happy that DM's can finally get avg ratings over 7, which was near on impossible in FM14). Vertonghen was the ever-present leader of the defence, quite deadly at set pieces too. Lloris kept 23(!) clean sheets in the league.

Finally, young Dier deserves special mention. With Chiriches and Fazio gone, Dier really had to step it up when Kaboul got injuried and in the end he played some odd 40 games. Looking a bit raw at times, sure, but what an excellent prospect. With high values for determination, teamwork, workrate and leadership at the tender age of 21, I see a future club captain. If not the new King, then definitely the new Dawson.

THE FUTURE

The primary objective is clear: to knock Chelsea and their smug manager (we've worked up quite a feisty relationship) off their perch. But how do you stop a team with players like Costa, Hazard and Fabregas? Damn hard. Champions League glory would be more of a bonus.

I'm quite happy with the squad and aren't sure I wanna alter it too much. One signing is finalised for next season: Pereyra from Juventus/Udinese, will hopefully provide more of a goal threat from midfield. Biggest dilemma is the attack. Soldado needs replacing sooner or later, but an expensive big name signing in attack would probably stifle Kane's progress. Then again, Kane's probably not quite good enough to lead us all the way in the league. Decisions decisions.

Well, at least I managed to convince Levy to expand WHL by 8500 seats so next season we'll have bigger capacity than Villa, Everton and that blue plastic club across town. (I've removed the new stadium move in the pre-game editor since those plans all seems pretty much up in the air IRL).

Guess that's it. If you bothered to read all the way, kudos, and here's a word of Spurs advice as a reward: run at defence is a freaking great team instruction. Seeing players like Lamela, Eriksen and Dembele take off on slaloming mazy runs against dumbstruck defenders is a pure delight.

Excellent update and interesting philosophy!! You must have some money to spend? Surely build for future if you wont buy first team players?!?! Sounds like you did really well though so congrats. be interesting to see what you do for upcoming season

[Matt123]

Greetings fellow yiddos!

(Warning: wall of text incoming).

Just read through this thread, and what strikes me is that many of you tend to more or less buy a whole new team when taking over Spurs. Now, I agree that our current squad isn't that great - or just seems a bit too "much of a muchness" to quote a certain mr Sherwood - but for me the challenge and half the fun has always been to try and get the most out of the current crop of players.

So after fooling around with some other teams in other leagues just to get a feel for FM15, I finally started this year's first Spurs save the other week. Unfortunately, it was all kind of a mess. We were hard to beat, but conceded so many stupid goals that we looked like Man City under mr Hughes: 18 draws in 38 games, loads and loads of 1-1's and 2-2's. We reached the FA Cup final, but a few weeks before facing the arse at Wembley, Vertonghen threw a hissy fit over not getting his dream move to Barca (they never even made a bid!) and the whole squad just imploded. Not a very nice experience.

After giving the game a break for a couple of days, I decided to have another go at cracking it with Spurs. This time, something just clicked, which gave us a really interesting season.

TRANSFERS

As I've said, I wanna work with what's already here. The only signings were the pre-purchased Yedlin (who looks quite rubbish, unfortunately) and two young strikers to provide backup. Adebayor left for Saints in the winter and Wolfsburg bought half our defence. Fazio wanted more playing time, Chiriches I just can't stand (centrebacks should NOT have high values for dribbling, damnit!).

When I saw that Shaqiri were frozen out at Bayern, I did try to bring him in in January and really thought we had him in the bag, but sadly he preferred that blue team from west London. Money talks. Such a shame.

THE LEAGUE

We started with some dramatic high scoring games (2-2 away to Villa, 3-2 home against Utd) with me unsure of the best formation, before settling nicely into a solid 4-3-3 / 4-1-4-1 wich turned out to be nigh on inpenetrable. One streak of six games without conceding and another run of four without conceding saw us racing into the top spot by winter, still undefeated come february. 17 9 0 was a pretty great facit after 26 games until we crashed to defeat at Old Trafford.

Sadly, our defensive stability came at the expense of some attacking urgency, and a few nil-nils too many saw Chelsea pip us to the title after they won ten of their last twelve games. Getting our best players Soldado and Dembele (yes, him!) injuried for the last few months of the season didn't help either.

I'm not quite sure how I did it, but that doesn't make me less proud over turning White Hart Lane into a fortress again, only conceding f-i-v-e home goals all season long.

THE CUPS

The league cup gave us the shittiest of ties, away to Chelsea. We played a few kids, lost, and moved on. I did not smile when we got the draw for the FA Cup: Arsenal. Away. However, we outfought them, and after that it was smooth sailing all the way to Wembley. Surprise package Norwich had already won the league cup (facing rivals Ipswich in the final, no less) and gave us a scare with their odd, overload-the-centre-4-2-3-1, but in the end our superior quality saw us through. Not a classic in any way or shape, but FA Cup glory nonetheless.

EUROPE

Playoff and group stages was a breeze, as it should, with Bentaleb scoring in both games against Rio Ave one of the highlights. After the group stage I debated whether to continue playing Vorm in the EL or bring in the superior Lloris to give us a bigger chance at winning, but decided to keep the faith with Vorm. No regrets there. After making a stupid mistake against Sporting which cost us a goal, he decided to don't look back, instead stepping it up and closing the shop for good. We didn't concede a single goal after that.

The final against Zenit turned out to be a tense affair. Sadly, AVB had left (to manage Man Utd, believe it or not) and their new coach somehow found a way to stifle our play, whilst launching cross after cross after cross into the box, but our defence played superbly. In extra time, substitue Lamela got hold of a poor back pass and smashed an unstoppable rocket into the net, and the glory glory was all ours.

SQUAD STATS

Soldado and Lamela lead our lines in fine fashion, with excellent service from Eriksen and Dembele (player-of-the-season-candidate until injury cut his season short). Kane had a torrid time in the league, but scored for fun in the cups. Capoue was the reliable water carrier that allowed the rest of the midfield to flourish (I'm happy that DM's can finally get avg ratings over 7, which was near on impossible in FM14). Vertonghen was the ever-present leader of the defence, quite deadly at set pieces too. Lloris kept 23(!) clean sheets in the league.

Finally, young Dier deserves special mention. With Chiriches and Fazio gone, Dier really had to step it up when Kaboul got injuried and in the end he played some odd 40 games. Looking a bit raw at times, sure, but what an excellent prospect. With high values for determination, teamwork, workrate and leadership at the tender age of 21, I see a future club captain. If not the new King, then definitely the new Dawson.

THE FUTURE

The primary objective is clear: to knock Chelsea and their smug manager (we've worked up quite a feisty relationship) off their perch. But how do you stop a team with players like Costa, Hazard and Fabregas? Damn hard. Champions League glory would be more of a bonus.

I'm quite happy with the squad and aren't sure I wanna alter it too much. One signing is finalised for next season: Pereyra from Juventus/Udinese, will hopefully provide more of a goal threat from midfield. Biggest dilemma is the attack. Soldado needs replacing sooner or later, but an expensive big name signing in attack would probably stifle Kane's progress. Then again, Kane's probably not quite good enough to lead us all the way in the league. Decisions decisions.

Well, at least I managed to convince Levy to expand WHL by 8500 seats so next season we'll have bigger capacity than Villa, Everton and that blue plastic club across town. (I've removed the new stadium move in the pre-game editor since those plans all seems pretty much up in the air IRL).

Guess that's it. If you bothered to read all the way, kudos, and here's a word of Spurs advice as a reward: run at defence is a freaking great team instruction. Seeing players like Lamela, Eriksen and Dembele take off on slaloming mazy runs against dumbstruck defenders is a pure delight.

congrats mate, really enjoyed reading this.

nice to know you can do so well without changing the squad up too much - my main worry is trying to find suitable back up for Eriksen as i like playing 4-3-3 and from my limited time playing the demo (and year out of FM) i was unsure who a good creative midfielder would be

[kubo]

Excellent update and interesting philosophy!! You must have some money to spend? Surely build for future if you wont buy first team players?!?! Sounds like you did really well though so congrats. be interesting to see what you do for upcoming season

Thank you.

Yeah, the money's there alright. At the end of the season, we have a transfer budget of nearly £40m while being around £350k under our wage budget. It's almost a bit too much, Spurs aren't that loaded IRL. Not sure what to do with it tough, I find that scouting and buying players feels more tedious with each new version of FM. Maybe I'll just blow all the money on a superstar striker, just to see him fail miserably like a modern day Rebrov.

congrats mate, really enjoyed reading this.

nice to know you can do so well without changing the squad up too much - my main worry is trying to find suitable back up for Eriksen as i like playing 4-3-3 and from my limited time playing the demo (and year out of FM) i was unsure who a good creative midfielder would be

Thank you.

The great dane is a pretty special talent (even more so in the game) and I was lucky to only see him pick up one minor injury all season long. When he needed resting, players like Dembele (despite his awful rating for vision) and Bentaleb did an okay-ish job deputising. In fact, Bentaleb seems to have great, almost Modricuesque potential in this edition.

Just like you I'm not sure of the best players out there, but for young playmakers that Tielemans kid at Anderlecht seems to be the latest rage. Personally, I love Kovacic at Inter, but he's nobody's backup. Pereyra at Juventus seems great too, avaible as a bosman in the summer of 15, but I haven't had a chance to work with him yet.

[underkiller]

Kubu the tactic you use?

[kubo]

The tactics are nothing groundbreaking, a basic 4-3-3 Control / Flexible.

TI's: Shorter passing + Work ball into box + Run at defence + Push higher up + Close down more

The only PI's is for the keeper to Roll it out + Distribute to full backs and for the forward to Move into channels.

Against tougher opponents I would pull down the wingers into a 4-1-4-1 with Lamela as a Wide playmaker (still with an attacking duty) and play Counter / Flexible with Shorter passing + Work ball into box + Run at defence + Play Narrower + Be more disciplined.

However, I suspect that my heavy use of opposition instructions played a big part in our mean defence. Before kick off I would always ask my assistant Jesus Perez to set opposition instructions, and he would basically always instruct our players to show all their midfielders and attackers onto their weaker foot. To that I added tight marking against strikers and amc's and ALWAYS closing down against wingers and wide midfielders. If I suspected that our opponents would have a go at us, I told my wide midfielders to man mark their full backs.

That's pretty much it, but it seemed to really do the job against crosses and all other sorts of threats.

Also, just 3 goals conceded from corners in 38 league games.

[Miravlix]

Surprisingly easy team to win Prem league with. Little to easy as they aren't that good, I think you win on not being respected enough the first season.

[enders357]

Spurs have just signed Mario Gomez on another save I have. £11m at the end of the first season. Good bit of business - might be worth looking at ourselves!

[kubo]

Spurs have just signed Mario Gomez on another save I have. £11m at the end of the first season. Good bit of business - might be worth looking at ourselves!

But how big are his wages?

[enders357]

But how big are his wages?

£115k. I'd say that's pretty reasonable if's the main striker - it's only a sniff more than both Soldado and Adebayor are on and they're not in his league. He will be 34 when his contract's up though, but his physical stats are really strong so maybe he'll last that long. We shall see

[DosSantosFC]

Spurs have just signed Mario Gomez on another save I have. £11m at the end of the first season. Good bit of business - might be worth looking at ourselves!

Had a couple days off FM (GTA5 being the reason) but 5 days left in the first January transfer window. Sold Paulinho for £11.75m to Juve. Missed out on Bakkali and Yarmelenko on the Free the Juve and Arsenal respectively. Thinking about Giovinco.... anyone had him

before.... be rude not to have him on a free but to be honest im quite content with what I have. I did try signing Meyer with the Paulinho money but unfortunately he signed a new deal!!

[enders357]

Had a couple days off FM (GTA5 being the reason) but 5 days left in the first January transfer window. Sold Paulinho for £11.75m to Juve. Missed out on Bakkali and Yarmelenko on the Free the Juve and Arsenal respectively. Thinking about Giovinco.... anyone had him before.... be rude not to have him on a free but to be honest im quite content with what I have. I did try signing Meyer with the Paulinho money but unfortunately he signed a new deal!!

Never been a fan of Giovinco on previous FM's and haven't really looked at him on this. I doubt he's an improvement on those starting at Spurs.

[kubo]

Entering the final months of our second season. Unfortunately, Chelsea seems too strong again, but we shall see.

Anyhow, if anyone needs some more silky skills on your midfield, do sign Roberto Pereyra from Udinese (on loan at Juve the first season, but with an expiring contract). Absolute beauty of a footballer.

[mattyspurs]

Well, ive finally splashed out on this game. Just downloading and installing all the facepacks/kits/logo's etc as my ld hard drive died on me and i lost my FM2014 data and stuff.

Plan to pay as spurs (who else!), dont really want to bring anyone in and see what i can do with this squad but ill bring in good young players to play in the Cups.

What about the backroom staff guys? Anyone worth getting rid off or keeping?

Youth is what i plan to work on this game.

Ive had a read through this pages, Balanta is a good choice to get. Looks like Kane will be a beast aswell.

Ill keep u informed on how i get on......just need these metalic logos to download now

[allthatglitters]

Bentaleb is amazing for me. He's really thrown my carefully-crafted midfield plans into disarray because I really can't justify using him in rotation. I suffered heartbreak in my first season. I was fourth on the last day of the season, needing a win at champions Chelsea to seal CL qualification. We went 1-0 up through Kane, only to capitulate in the second half and lose 4-1. Two goals int he last five minutes as I chased the game proved crucial as it meant we finished 7th(!) - two points off fourth and not even in the Europa League. It was really, really tight.

So, with no Europe, I decided to gut my squad - create a really tight unit that could concentrate solely on the league. It's a weird experience only playing Saturday-Saturday with very few midweek games and it makes squad management that much harder. I'm seven games into season two and already having problems keeping players happy. Anyway, in the summer, I sold Eriksen, Capoue, Chiriches, Kaboul, Fazio, Dembele, Carroll, Townsend, which left me £100m to spend. What's that, a Spurs manager with £100m to spend? What could possibly go wrong?

Well, we'll see I suppose, but I'm happy with my squad. I wanted to increase the English contingent and get soe players with high work rate and stamina to play the high-tempo, high-press game which I'm after.

GK: Lloris / Vorm (Bought a 19yo keeper who is now out on loan and can't remember the name of but he'll replace Vorm - who is homesick - at the end of the season I think)

RB: Clyne / Dier

CB: Shawcross / Dier

CB: Balanta / Kempf

LB: Davies / Murru

DM: Romero / Stambouli

CM: Allen / Holtby

CM: Bentaleb / Ward-Prowse

AML: El-Shaarawy / Chadli

AMR: Lamela / Ward-Prowse

ST: Soldado / Kane / Berahino

I also bought a bunch of youngsters who I have high hopes for. Tielemans is out on loan, but we're doing well so far. Six points better off compared to equivalent fixtures last season with only one loss, away to Chelsea. But really, I've been so surprised by Bentaleb, who is now a wonderkid in his description. Always seems to assist and has three goals in six games from midfield.

[DosSantosFC]

Bentaleb is amazing for me. He's really thrown my carefully-crafted midfield plans into disarray because I really can't justify using him in rotation. I suffered heartbreak in my first season. I was fourth on the last day of the season, needing a win at champions Chelsea to seal CL qualification. We went 1-0 up through Kane, only to capitulate in the second half and lose 4-1. Two goals int he last five minutes as I chased the game proved crucial as it meant we finished 7th(!) - two points off fourth and not even in the Europa League. It was really, really tight.

So, with no Europe, I decided to gut my squad - create a really tight unit that could concentrate solely on the league. It's a weird experience only playing Saturday-Saturday with very few midweek games and it makes squad management that much harder. I'm seven games into season two and already having problems keeping players happy. Anyway, in the summer, I sold Eriksen, Capoue, Chiriches, Kaboul, Fazio, Dembele, Carroll, Townsend, which left me £100m to spend. What's that, a Spurs manager with £100m to spend? What could possibly go wrong?

Well, we'll see I suppose, but I'm happy with my squad. I wanted to increase the English contingent and get soe players with high work rate and stamina to play the high-tempo, high-press game which I'm after.

GK: Lloris / Vorm (Bought a 19yo keeper who is now out on loan and can't remember the name of but he'll replace Vorm - who is homesick - at the end of the season I think)

RB: Clyne / Dier

CB: Shawcross / Dier

CB: Balanta / Kempf

LB: Davies / Murru

DM: Romero / Stambouli

CM: Allen / Holtby

CM: Bentaleb / Ward-Prowse

AML: El-Shaarawy / Chadli

AMR: Lamela / Ward-Prowse

ST: Soldado / Kane / Berahino

I also bought a bunch of youngsters who I have high hopes for. Tielemans is out on loan, but we're doing well so far. Six points better off compared to equivalent fixtures last season with only one loss, away to Chelsea. But really, I've been so surprised by Bentaleb, who is now a wonderkid in his description. Always seems to assist and has three goals in six games from midfield.

Interested to see how it turns out!!!

[DosSantosFC]

Well, ive finally splashed out on this game. Just downloading and installing all the facepacks/kits/logo's etc as my ld hard drive died on me and i lost my FM2014 data and stuff.

Plan to pay as spurs (who else!), dont really want to bring anyone in and see what i can do with this squad but ill bring in good young players to play in the Cups.

What about the backroom staff guys? Anyone worth getting rid off or keeping?

Youth is what i plan to work on this game.

Ive had a read through this pages, Balanta is a good choice to get. Looks like Kane will be a beast aswell.

Ill keep u informed on how i get on......just need these metalic logos to download now

Kane has been a beast for me, don't know about anyone else. Like I said previously my worry is coaches say he has fulfilled his potential when his stats are just OK but if he scored 30+ a season (on 31 now in early March) then I wont be complaining.

[danspurs89]

Can't for toffee with my spurs team this year, shame seeing as in fm14 I won 10 trophies in 4 years.

Nothing works, any advice?

[AustSaint]

I am using a 4-4-2, I found the tactics on youtube. If you search for a guy called footymanagertv, and look up his Man U tactics, try them out. I have had some amazing results using them.

[reece1973]

Anyone else find that Spurs players seem to be a moaning bunch of parasites??

Ive had Vertonghen, Kaboul, Vorm, Capoue all moan within the 1st 5 games.

Either im not playing them or they wanted to leave pre season

[enders357]

Anyone else find that Spurs players seem to be a moaning bunch of parasites??

Ive had Vertonghen, Kaboul, Vorm, Capoue all moan within the 1st 5 games.

Either im not playing them or they wanted to leave pre season

I think it's the same everywhere in fm15

[ggeorgiou01]

What strikers are people buying?

I bought Wilfred Bony for £14 million in first season. Only played 10 games of season so far and he has only netted a penalty. Soldado in disguise!

[allthatglitters]

Fourteen games into my second season now and without Europe, things are going very nicely. Just the one defeat - away to Chelsea - and we're top by a point and eight clear of fifth. Real Madrid want Bentaleb, who continues to be amazing, AC Milan want Stambouli, who only plays sporadically when Romero is rested and Man City want Balanta, but they can do one, although Kempf has been a brilliant backup CB and will step up if City offer stupid money for Balanta.

I will resist selling Bentaleb if possible, because he's been so good and to have a home grown wonderkid is so much more satisfying. El-Shaarawy is finally coming good too. I bought him ahead of the first season from Milan but he was distinctly underwhelming, but I've shown some patience and he finally appears to be settling. Soldado still slamming them in and Joe Allen has been far more productive than Dembele, with far more assists and goals. That decision is looking a good one. That's the thing with Dembele - at first glance his attributes are good with great dribbling etc, but as in real life, his vision and finishing are poor so there's often no end product.

Holtby is getting pissed off at getting little playing time so I might have to let him go, which would be a shame because with CL likely next season, I'll need players like him. Just need him to be patient.